CASTANETS!
All of our music students at Joyful Noise Christian Childcare really enjoyed the castanets this week! We explored the shape of the castanet and the fine motor movement that it takes to create a "click", as well as other types of castanets in my music cabinet. We also looked through some pictures that I had laminated and turned into a memory game!
Finding a matching castanet proved to be a total blast for our three and four year olds, and our twos and under instead enjoyed looking at the pictures and counting how many different types of castanets there were.
We also practice "echoing" rhythms with our hands, through clicking our tongues, and using the castanets as we sang a fun song about a little frog down by the pond. I used a cute frog shape with the mouth area cut out, to make room for a castanet to poke through! There were many giggles as the frog used both clicks and funny words to make rhythms that students could then echo or repeat.
See the extender questions below to start the conversation about castanets at home!
1.) What colors were on the castanet you used in music class? (Red, blue. We also had a few pink castanets in the mix!)
2.) What animal was singing down on the pond using a castanet for its mouth? (A frog!)
3.) Can you clap a rhythm?